Cosmology Lesson 3

When a collection of gas and dust comes together to make a star, its life has just begun. The life cycle of the star will depend on how much matter came together at that spot. NASA has prepared two charts that show the life cycle of stars, one for students grades K-8 and another for students grade 9-12 . (You can also drag these charts to your desktop from the courses folder.)

Do you find one easier to understand than the other? Do you find any information on the 9-12 chart that was not clear on the K-8 chart? You can also read the text that accompanies the charts, if you like.

When you have a general sense of how stars evolve, take this quiz to see if you are really a master! (You can use the chart for practice, but be prepared to answer questions like this on next week's test!)

This simulation shows what happens to the temperature and luminosity of stars as they become Red Giants. This simulation shows the same idea with some different graphics.

Here is a picture of a section of the sky --see if you can spot the supernova!

Star Formation Game